Social Skills Storybook: Ruby Gets in the Game

Game On!

Have you ever been excited and nervous at the same time? A lot of autistic children who want to play in team sports get so excited about playing a sport, that they are a little shocked the day they step foot on the field to find anxiety and nerves taking over. How do we know this? With two boys who attempted soccer at very young ages (too young)!

My spectrum son wanted nothing to do with soccer, other than running the lines of the field. My ADHD’er had a blast and participated more, but with some distractions.

Ruby Cube has done it again with their social skills storybook app, Ruby Gets in the Game. Part of the storysmart ebook suite, it uses audio and visuals to help autistic children read through a situation and figure out how to deal with certain social circumstances.

As a parent of an autistic son, I appreciate the fact that a husband and wife team, with the help of their awesome daughter who is high-functioning autistic, developed these books! We love them!

Set it Up

Upon first time use, users are asked to type their name and record “good” and “bad” sounds for reinforcement. Kids love hearing their own voices and can record these if they want. Also, if you want to switch between more than one user, you can tap the user name in the tool bar at the bottom.

Making the Play

Ruby is a quirky little girl who loves soccer. She’s on a team with friends, but has a little trouble understanding social circumstances that surround team sports.

Kids using this app are most likely high-functioning autistic. They can either have the story read to them or read through it themselves.

As they read, they must select the appropriate words, highlighted in blue, to match the circumstance Ruby faces. They must use their critical thinking and social skills to figure it out.

When children tap the correct set of blue text, the “good” audio reinforcement plays to assure the correct answer was chosen.

In the below example, “tied Kevin’s shoes together” was not the correct answer. In this case, the “bad” audio reinforcement sounds so the user can redo it.

I enjoyed how each of these three ebooks use different social scenarios for each character to improve upon. The story’s visuals and highlighted words help autistic kids really grasp how to handle themselves in similar situations and feel confident doing it!

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Who’s Behind Autism Plugged In?

My name is Jack Kieffer and I'm a blogger sharing my love of technology at blogs like Cool Gizmo Toys, Greenamajigger, and here at Autism Plugged In where I'm trying to make a difference in the lives of children with autism.

Several years ago, I began volunteering with special needs kids, who gave me much joy and an appreciation for life. This blog is my way of giving back. Any proceeds from this effort are used to support my friends with autism. Read more about Jack or connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.